Okay, this is a no brainer and we've been advising this strategy for people trying to lose weight since FitPerez.com came into existence, but choosing water over caloric drinks like soda is a sure-fire way to lose weight!

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that overweight or obese people were able to lose 4-5 pounds over a 6 month period, simply by drinking water instead of other beverages.

The experiment divided 318 participants into 3 groups: One that switched from drinking caloric beverages to just water, another that switched to water and diet soda, and one group that did not change their diet, but received general health and nutrition advice.

Even though other studies have linked diet soda to weight gain in the past, the group that drank water and diet soda were more likely to lose 5% or more of their body weight.

"Substituting specific foods or beverages that provide a substantial portion of daily calories may be a useful strategy for modest weight loss or weight gain prevention. Beverages may be ideal targets, but keep in mind, the strategy will only work if the person doesn't make up for the lost calories some other way."

In regards to the link between diet soda and weight, another expert pointed out:

"One possible part of the explanation is that people who see they are beginning to gain weight may be more likely to switch from regular to diet soda. But despite their switching, their weight may continue to grow for other reasons. So diet soft-drink use is a marker for overweight and obesity."

Nobody has the right to demand that you lose weight except yourself. Likewise, nobody is going to convince you to lose it except yourself either. If you're trying to slim down, we HIGHLY recommend the losing the unnecessary liquid calories found in the carbonated sugar water called soda.